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MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS

MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS

When you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, it’s important that you know your rights and responsibilities, to help bring justice for your suffering and compensation to your pain. The team of personal injury professionals at Murphy & Pressentin can help you recover monetary compensation for the losses to you and your family. We also bring you the following safe motorcycle driving tips to help you avoid future disasters.

THE TOP 6 DEFENSIVE DRIVING TIPS

Motorcycle riders are at higher risk than other vehicles because bikes are smaller, less visible and less stable than four-wheeled vehicles. Motorcycles have fewer barriers to prevent injuries compared to automobiles, which have seat-belts, air bags, door and roof beams, and windshields. Although motorcycle riders are only 2% of all vehicles on the road, they account for 5% of all fatalities.

Motorcycles do have some safety advantages, as they are more agile, can turn quickly to avoid hazards and obstacles, and they have a much shorter stopping distance. The key to defensive driving of motorcycles then, in addition to applying the defensive driving tips for four-wheeled vehicles (please review), is to maximize the safety advantages and compensate for the increased exposure risk.

These 8 defensive driving tips are essential to becoming a safe motorcycle driver. Defensive driving is defined as “driving to save time, lives and money, in spite of the conditions around you and the actions of others.”

While every situation is different and will require its own specific course of action, there are 8 very basic defensive driving tips that should always be followed while you ride. If you discipline yourself to follow these 8 rules each time you ride, you will become a safer rider and reduce the risk of being involved in an accident. The key is self-discipline, as anytime you violate one of these rules you are putting yourself and everyone around you at risk

1. INCREASE YOUR VISIBILITY, BUT ASSUME YOU’RE INVISIBLE

Use daytime lights, bright colors and lots of chrome to increase visibility. Beeping your horn at the first sign of danger is very important to help others see you. The angle of view of cars and bigger vehicles is not good for smaller targets like motorcycles or bikes.

Use lane choice (left, center or right thirds of a lane) to increase your visibility to other traffic, depending on the circumstances. Avoid overtaking on the right, as circumstances arise where vehicles try to merge from the right thinking the lane is open because it looks empty at a glance. Avoid blind spots – never ride in another driver’s blind spot alongside the rear of a vehicle.

Be vigilant at all times and assume that you are invisible! Look at all driveways and intersections and be prepared to take evasive action if someone doesn’t see you.

2. HAVE AN ESCAPE PLAN

In order to be one of the safest riders on the road, you must always have an escape plan. This is a skill that is learned over time. While you may be a great rider, it’s hard to predict what other drivers around you may do. There are also factors beyond your control that can change a routine driving situation into a driving emergency quite quickly. Say an animal runs into the road and the driver ahead slams on their brakes. Or another driver turns from a driveway in front of your motorcycle. These are the situational hazards which defensive riders need to foresee. What will you do? Where will you go? In all riding situations, the best way to avoid potential danger are to position your motorcycle where you have an alternate escape plan at all times.

Unfortunately, you share the road with drivers who don’t take driving safely seriously. That’s why you must always leave yourself an out in case the worst happens. Having an escape plan is crucial to your safety.

Having an escape plan requires that you establish and maintain a buffer around your motorcycle. If someone pulls up alongside you and matches their speed to yours, either speed up or slow down so that the lane next to you is clear. That way, if you need to swerve, you have somewhere to go. Likewise maintain a safe following distance so swerving won’t even be necessary. Beware of tailgaters. If you speed up, the tailgater will speed up too. Control the situation by slowing down and allowing the tailgater to pass. By establishing and maintaining a buffer zone, both in front, behind and to the side, you give yourself options and more than one escape route whenever possible.

3. BE COMPETENT AT BRAKING, CORNERING AND CURVES

Be sure that you are really competent at braking, cornering and curves, as these are the trickiest maneuvers and require the most experience. In single vehicle accidents, motorcycle rider error is present as the precipitating factor in two-thirds of the crashes. The typical error is a slide-out and fall due to excess speed and running wide on a curve, over-braking or under-cornering.

4. USE CARS AS SHIELDS AT INTERSECTIONS

To prevent accidents at intersections, use cars as shields by passing through intersections alongside cars and other vehicles, especially if you are able to position yourself where the other traffic is in the left lane blocking another car from turning directly in front of you. (Attach #6 here)

5. STAY IN THE SAFEST LANE

When riding on multi-lane divided interstate highways, the safest lane is the far left lane (if there’s a shoulder). The far right lane is subject to vehicles constantly merging onto the highway and other vehicles exiting. With a shoulder, the far left lane gives the motorcyclist an escape route and subjects the rider to vehicles on three sides, not four. Middle lanes may be safer if there is no left lane shoulder, as they offer multiple escape routes, but middle lanes also carry the risk of twice as many vehicles that may potentially merge into the motorcyclist’s lane. Never ride in another driver’s blind spot alongside the rear of a vehicle. When passing alongside cars to your right, pass them quickly to minimize the window of opportunity for an abrupt lane-changing vehicle to collide with your motorcycle. Try to ride alongside car gaps in the next lane, or if necessary, alongside the driver’s front left quarter panel where you will be clearly visible. Also pay attention to the occasional left-hand entrance or exit to the highway, as cars may merge from that direction as well.

6. AVOID LANE SHARING WITH OTHER MOTORCYCLES

When riding with other motorcycles, avoid lane sharing. If one of two riders must swerve to avoid something like a large pothole, animal, random object or another vehicle, a neighboring motorcycle will endanger both cycles as it will occupy the safety zone. A swerve is now impossible and you will either wreck or turn into the rider next to you, causing two riders to crash in injury. A staggered formation is best as it creates a safety zone for evasive maneuvers by each motorcycle and creates a larger visual for drivers to see. Only when coming to a stop at a light or sign should riders be parallel.

7. MAINTAIN YOUR MACHINE PROPERLY

Ensure that your motorcycle is mechanically fit and safe to ride. Check for proper tire inflation and that brakes, engine chain/belt, suspension, lights and oil/fluids are in working order.

8. WEAR PROPER CLOTHES AND EQUIPMENT

Goggles or glasses, boots, gloves, jeans or leather pants, and leather or a denim jacket will protect your bare skin from coming in direct contact with the pavement in the event of a crash. While helmet laws have their proponents and critics, helmets have certainly saved lives in many circumstances. Clothes with protection for knees, elbows and shoulders are important as they decrease the odds of broken bones and tendons at these points. The first body parts to hit the ground usually sustain the worst injuries in light to mild crashes. If you hit a corner, the chance for injury is high and the recovery, slow and difficult. The use of heavy boots, gloves and jacket are effective in preventing or reducing abrasions or lacerations in the event of a crash.

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Personal Injury Lawyers Disclaimer: The personal injury, wrongful death, negligence motor vehicle accident and/or other legal information offered by Murphy & Pressentin, LLC, Personal Injury Lawyers, is not formal legal advice, nor the formation of an Attorney-Client relationship. Any results set forth herein are based only upon the facts of that particular case and offer no promise or guarantee on the outcome of any case.